Jewel
by Smash Genesis
Summary: A jewel is just an ordinary rock, put under enormous heat and pressure.


**Jewel **

**Smash Genesis: Hey guys! New story! Sorry if Sabrina is out of character, it's my first time writing her.**

**I don't own Harvest Moon, Marvelous does. **

The sounds of the waves were the only sound. At this time of night, I wouldn't expect otherwise. It was a soothing sound, unlike anything else. For me, it symbolized not only tranquility and peace, but power and determination as well.

It was at a beach, not too different than this one, that I met him. We lived in the city, so it had been a treat for us both. As five-year-olds, having our parents drive us 10 miles to the coast was an adventure.

"_Sweetie," mom said, "meet us back here in an hour." Reaching into her wallet she pulled out 5 dollars – all the money I could ever hope for. "This is for ice cream, darling." I pocketed the money gladly, and raced from the boardwalk towards the beach, forgetting a "thank you" in my excitement. Not looking where I going I bumped into a boy. He was my age, blond and slim. _

"_S-sorry…" I said, hoping he wouldn't tell on me. _

"_No pwoblem." He turned to face me. "Name's Mawk. Mawk Banneh. Who aw you?"_

"_I'm Sabrina Stone. Nice t' meets you."_

That day remained among my favorites, even until now. We made sandcastles and played pretend (he was a knight in shining armor, and I was the princess he had to save) and we talked about cartoons. (I told him Ash wasn't going to win the Pokémon League! But did he listen?)

When the time came for us to go, we had our parents exchange phone numbers. Our parents expected that we would forget about each other, but time only strengthened our friendship.

"_Okay children," our 3__rd__ grade teacher said, "line up single-file!"_

"_Yeess, Mrs. Applebeee!" Came the chorus of a response. _

_Lunch time! The best time of the day! Especially because it was pizza day! _

_I sat down at my usual table, piping hot pepperoni pizza in hand. Of course, no one ever sat with _me_. I was the nerd. The shy, rock-loving nerd who should by avoided at all costs, with the exception of bullying. _

_Pizza in mouth, I glance over towards Mark's table – the table _reserved_ for the "popular" kids. A sigh escaped my lips. It wasn't that I was angry at Mark; it was that I wish he wouldn't be so dense. Maybe if he invited me over to sit with him, I might go from "nerd" to "just-there." I could dream couldn't I? I turned back to my pizza. _

_"Hey, Sabrina!" That was Mark! I turned. "You wanna sit with us?" His offer got him looks. You know, the kind that say "Are you insane?" _

"_Oh, um…" I stammered. "I don't know…"_

"_C'mon Jewel!" He used his nickname for me, the one he used when he really wanted to let me know he really meant it. "My friends won't bite you!" _

_Another batch of looks. _

_  
"Fine." Mark said. _

_Then he got up and sat down at _my _table. I didn't understand, was there a gas leak?_

"_Pepperoni?" He asked. "Yuck!"_

Of course, Mark's popularity took a nose dive after that. Though, I think it was for the better. Or was it? If we hadn't been such good friends, maybe I wouldn't be hurting now.

_The first morning announcements ended, and summer vacation along with it. Well, my junior year couldn't be that bad could it? _

_First period was over, then second and third. I saw Mark in the hallway, a trio of girls drooling after him. Yes, his popularity had risen again and I was left in the dust. We still saw each other on weekends, though. I wondered why he couldn't just leave the popular bit behind and stay with me._

_Of course. Mark _needed_ attention. He needed people to talk to him, and he needed to talk to people. I should know that by now. _

_Why couldn't _I_ be enough?_

_That Saturday, I met up with Mark at our hangout, the local library. Mark would read books about nature and plants. Me, I read about ore and minerals, and how jewels were formed. Oftentimes, we would just talk in low, library voices. _

_Mark did most of the talking. I was a shy person, not much for words. Though, I found that, around Mark, I could open up, if I wanted. We would talk about this and that, or the other thing – pointless worries that could only belong to high-schoolers._

_What came next was completely out of the blue._

"_Say, umm, Sabrina…" Mark's face flushed beet-red. "Would… you like to go to the movies, next weekend… As a"- he stopped, his words were trapped in his throat. "As a date?"_

Little did I know it, saying "yes" to his request would leave me irreversibly hurt. And I did. I said "yes."

To this day, I ask my self "Why did I let my self become so _attached_ to him?" And the answer has yet to come.

_"Mom _what_?" I couldn't believe it. Mom _couldn't_ be dead. _

_"Yes…" My father was equally mournful. Mom had _always_ been the driver in our home, the stubborn one. So then why did she give up her life so easily? She was just going out to get ice cream. Instead, she was killed by a drunk driver. _

_Naturally, my father was too busy to comfort me. In his stead, Mark came over to see me. _

_We were in the living room together. My father had gone for a walk, as he did when he needed to clear his mind. He either trusted us or was just too saddened to think about leaving us home alone might mean. _

_"It's going to be alright, Jewel." He said for the umpteenth time._

"No it's not!" My tears had broken into a bawl. I buried my face in his chest, tears burning my flesh. 

_Mark embraced me and I rested my head on his. "Jewel, everything _will_ be fine." His voice was still soft and comforting, though it had taken on some authority._

"_M-mark." I stammered. _

_The next thing I said was a whisper, barely audible. "I love you, Mark Banner."_

"_I love you, too."_

And that was the beginning of the end.

Now, our relationship wasn't wild sex every night, just wasn't. It was more of a… personal thing. We would just talk, and talk and talk. Or rather, Mark would talk. I would just listen, every fiber of my being bursting with ecstasy. I'm not sure, but I think he felt the same way. I think.

There was this one time where he tried showing me how to vertically balance a banana peel on top of deck of cards. Another time, he showed me how to carve letters into rock. I don't remember exactly _how _to do that anymore, but the words he used have stuck with me to this very day: "Mark + Sabrina 4ever." Clichéd, huh?

I remember when he left, as if it were yesterday.

_"I'm leaving, Sabrina." We just came out of a movie, so this didn't really surprise me. _

_"I know." _

_"No, Jewel." Wait… he was using his pet name for me? "Jewel, I'm going to move. To a place called Mineral Town. I've gotten a job as a farmhand!" Mark smiled, as if this was the best decision anyone could ever make. Noting the shock on my face, Mark elaborated, his tone more serious. "Jewel, you know I can't do _anything_. I never passed a test in school; every college I've applied for has turned me down. I can't keep a job locally for my life." Mark paused for a moment, pained. "I'm stupid, Sabrina. An _idiot._"_

_"But… All those girls in school! That counts for something right?" _

_"I love you. Not them."_

_Tears in my eyes, I ask "Why didn't you tell me?"_

_"I didn't want to tell you anything before I got the job." Mark hung his head, ashamed._

_"But…" I couldn't protest. It wasn't that just that he needed this job – it was that he wanted _this_ job. Mark loved nature, and everything about it. This was _perfect_ for him. "What about me? You'd just _leave_ me?"_

_Then he asked me something: "Jewel… will you marry me?"_

That_ was a shocker. Mark didn't have a ring or anything, but did he really? mean what he was saying?_

_ If I said yes, and went with him, I'd be with Mrs. Banner. Something I'd wanted for a long time now. But… I'd have to adjust to an entirely new setting, and besides – me, a farmhand? Or some other backbreaking job? And… I wouldn't _know_ anyone there. No one. They'd be strangers. At least here in the city I had some friends. And maybe declining would change his mind._

_"No," I said, my voice almost a whisper, the words choked out._

When I heard the ship Mark had taken had sunk, a part of me slipped away. A part of me that wasn't _me._ It was almost as if a piece Mark's soul had slithered its way into mine. And now that Mark was gone, so was that piece. I was foolish. I said I could sense him, told myself I could. But I can't, and I'll never see him again.

4 years have passed, and I'm a shell of my former self. I've become more introverted than ever before, and I'm burying myself in my drawing. My doctor says it's not healthy, that I need to get out. How can I? I've become an assistant to my father, and am always busy sorting paperwork and planning meetings.

My father has noticed an increasingly diverse amount of ore shipments from a small farming community, located on an island just of the coast of southern California. It's called "Sunny Island" because of the near perpetual sunlight. As our company's mine's supply of gems dwindle, the company is falling into deeper and deeper debt.

And so, 2 weeks ago, my father made the decision to relocate "Regis Mining Co." to Sunny Island.

Late this evening, our ship docked and my father went to buy the house he had the local carpenter make. I'm waiting on the beach, still waiting for him to come back.

The next thing I know, I'm in a bed, sunlight cascading in through the window.

"Ah. Sabrina. You're up." I turn to see my father in front of a desk, sorting paperwork as always.

"Father…?"

"I found you passed out on the beach last night. You must've fallen asleep. I'm sorry I took so long, darling." Then, with less sincerity "Get up and eat. We're going to introduce ourselves to the local farmer, and I will _not _have you looking like a slob."

One breakfast later, we were standing outside Ninty Ranch's farmhouse. My father knocks on the door thrice. "Hello? We're coming in."

We are met by a young woman about my age. Her flame red hair hasn't been brushed, and is all tangled and matted.

"Hey," She says. "I haven't seen you two around here. You new?"

"Yes. Just got here last night. Are you the farmer here?"

The woman chuckles. "Nah, that's my husband, Mark."

Mark? _My_ Mark? No…

"My name is Natalie Banner." _No… This… can't be._

Just then, a figure stirs in a bed, and sits upright. One look at me and he says: "Sabrina?"

I run, run as far as I can, until I can't run anymore. I stop to look around. I'm in a dense forest, with no idea how to get out.

Something Mark told me pops into my head. _A jewel is just an ordinary rock, put under enormous heat and pressure._

So that's what I am to Mark Banner: ordinary. I don't know how he got here, but he could have at least written me. And then he starts dating this Natalie – no then he _marries_ this Natalie.

I whisper something to my self, much in the same tone on the night when I confessed to Mark: "I hate you, Mark Banner."

But it wasn't true. It never would be true. I would never move on, and I would never be happy with what I had now. But I didn't want to move on. I didn't want to leave my memories behind.

And I never did.

**Author's Notes: I've had this written up for a couple of months, and I just decided to post it now. Also, I know you can't get married until you meet all the main characters, but just bear with me, mmkay? I'm using a little creative license.**


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